Costa Rican Airport Lights Up Airfield with Solar Power

The Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica will soon be using solar-powered LED signs to light up their airfield, making it the first major civil airfield to use solar energy for their signs.

May 08, 2013

The Juan Santamaria International Airport is currently installing a large number of the solar LED signs, which will also help decrease the amount of expenditures and project cost with a minimal amount of disruption to aviation operations.

“The joint partnership of ADB and Carmanah was key to winning this project,” said Carmanah CEO Bruce Cousins. “Originally specified for grid-power LED signs, solar presented an economic and reliable solution that is being picked up by civil airfields around the world."

The solar-powered signs (SSS) are great solutions for airfields that need to make quick safety improvement or that have a hard time accessing the electrical grid. The SSS at the Costa Rican airport will consist of an ADB sign and a solar engine power supply (SEPS) by Carmanah. The engine will make the airfield easier to operate in during night and low-light conditions. The LED sign can also be operated by a remote control to make position adjustments as needed.